How to develop your emotional intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is one of the constructs that has gained the most popularity in the last decades in the field of psychology since it has been shown to be key in the work, educational and sports performance; and it is essential for the well-being of people, their happiness and their personal development. In this article, we give you 8 activities to develop your emotional intelligence.

Fundamentally, it is the set of our mental abilities aimed at identifying and regulating our emotions and feelings, as well as recognizing them in other people to better empathize.

To start practicing emotional intelligence on a daily basis, there is nothing better than having an emotional diary. This activity is simple because it is similar to the classic adolescent diary.

To carry out the diary of emotions, you only have to take 10 or 20 minutes a day, preferably before going to bed, to make a review of how your journey has been on an emotional level. If for example you feel you have been experiencing stress and you feel sad, write it down. Check how you have felt during the week and compare it with the previous week.

It is important that you add strategies to feel better, that is, tasks that you can do to avoid the excess of negative emotions. With the diary of emotions, it is possible to work on emotional self-knowledge and emotional regulation as you use it. This strategy is useful to understand your emotions and to give you feedback on how you feel.

To carry it out in your day to day, it is necessary that you take a few minutes of your conversations to voluntarily listen actively. You may think it is simple, but it is usual that instead of paying full attention to the other person’s communication, our thoughts and beliefs contaminate our interpersonal communication. So the next time you’re in front of someone, take a few minutes to observe their body language, their gestures, their looks, their expressions and the emotions that the other interlocutor tries to convey.

How to develop your emotional intelligence- 3: The wheel of life

The wheel of life is one of the most effective techniques to know ourselves and correct those areas of our life that we are not happy with. Performing this exercise takes no more than 20 minutes and its operation is very simple. Its effectiveness is such that even experts in personal development use this technique.

This technique helps us to know what our desires and needs are, which are often hidden by social demands. Therefore, it is a way to empower ourselves in front of life, to translate into a paper what we really want and what is important for us. Thus we can have a clearer clear vision of where we want to go, from outside our head.

To perform this exercise, we need a sheet of paper that contains a circle so we can put what areas of our life are important to us and we want to work. For example, work, friends, couple, family, leisure. Afterward, it is necessary to evaluate each variable with a score that shows our preference. For example, if work is the most important, we will put the number “1”. Once we have clear the order of preference, it is necessary to write down different actions to improve our lives.

How to develop your emotional intelligence- 4: Vipassana meditation

There are different types of meditation, and although many people think that this technique only serves to calm us down, some of these meditative practices are really useful to improve emotional intelligence. One of the best known is vipassana meditation. In fact, vipassana is a Pali language term meaning “observation” or “clear vision”.

Vipassana meditation emphasizes awareness and attention in the breath, focusing the mind on the air that enters and exits through the nose. When the mind begins to ruminate, it is necessary to label the thoughts and emotions, observe them and let them go, accepting them.

How to develop your emotional intelligence- 5: Stop a minute

Emotional regulation is also one of the keys to emotional intelligence and interpersonal relationships. But it is not always possible to stop a minute of our life to analyze the present moment. Imagine that you are in a collective bargaining at work and things get out of hand. The environment has become tense and you are not reaching an agreement because there is a certain tone of tension. You may want to stop for a moment, clear your mind and respond and negotiate with your head rather than with your heart.

You can learn to relax and control your emotions with one-minute meditation. Once you have perfected it, you can use it anytime and anywhere. In the previous example (collective bargaining), if things get out of hand, it is always better to take 5 minutes of rest so that the waters return to their course and the negotiation can be resumed with serenity. In that situation, you could take advantage of that rest to practice this exercise.

How to develop your emotional intelligence- 6: Read a book

Emotional intelligence skills can be worked on and improved over time. If you want to enjoy its benefits, it is a good option to read a book on this subject of the many that are on the market. These texts are a good way to acquire both theoretical and practical knowledge, and you will surely notice the difference. The variety of books is such that you can even help your children develop emotional intelligence if you wish.

How to develop your emotional intelligence- 7: Sign up for a workshop

If reading a book on emotional intelligence is a great option to improve your emotional skills and relationship with others, it is even better to sign up for a course of personal growth on this subject of the many that are available. The truth is that this is a good way to carry out experiential and experiential group practices.

In addition to these last two options, it is possible to attend coaching sessions to develop your emotional intelligence. A coach is an expert in personal development that will help you get to know you better and develop your emotional skills, as well as accompanying you in the process of change so that you improve your well-being and overcome your limiting beliefs. The coach will provide you with tools that will help you improve your emotional intelligence and, in addition, achieve your goals and objectives.

We hope you will like these activities to improve your emotional intelligence. We want your comments and suggestions to promote our ideas. Thank you and have a great day!